Minutemen (band)

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Minutemen
General information
origin San Pedro , United States
Genre (s) Punk rock , hardcore punk , alternative rock , jazzcore
founding 1979
resolution 1985
Last occupation
Mike Watt
Vocals, guitar
D. Boon
George Hurley

Minutemen was a hardcore and punk band founded in 1979 in San Pedro , California , with influences from funk , country and mariachi music. The band's records were released on the Californian label SST Records . Minutemen are among the most influential bands in California's hardcore movement. With their sound they also influenced alternative rock and crossover, among other things .

Surname

As a result of a reshuffle of the previous band The Reactionaries , the band was named after a militia group from the American Revolutionary War .

History and style

Guitarist and vocalist D. Boon , bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley combined funk influences with the dynamics of punk rock, creating an excited, eclectic style that they themselves called punk , but which differed greatly from the classic Ramones pattern difference. The California scene influenced each other. The Minutemen got to know the punk heroes of the band Black Flag early on , who gave them a record deal with their label SST and with whom they performed extensively live at the beginning.

Initially, their songs were mostly short, edgy, without any complex arrangements. This was part of the concept that the band called “econo” (derived from “economical”): In music, too, you shouldn't waste time and effort unnecessarily where it's not absolutely necessary. Otherwise, not much money should be invested in production, tour etc. (“we jam econo”, see also the film of the same name by Tim Irwin). The band always broke with conventions, as was common in the punk scene. The LP Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat contained one of the first hardcore recordings with a wind instrument ( The Project ). In 1984 the most significant and most successful album, Double Nickels On the Dime , was released, which took the econo concept to extremes, but was well produced.

The band later released a record with the opposite concept: "mersh" (derived from commercial). The LP Project Mersh was deliberately recorded for commercial success. The songs are much longer and more elaborate than on the hit album Double Nickels On the Dime, which contained 43 essentially one-minute songs. In contrast to Double Nickels On The Dime , Project Mersh was not a real success.

Then, in 1985, the LP 3 Way Tie (For Last) was released , which in turn pursued a new concept and surprised, among other things, with cover versions of hard rock bands (including Meat Puppets , Blue Öyster Cult etc.). The band was actually on the way to a notable commercial success (they should also appear in larger arenas with REM ) when singer D. Boon's fatal car accident in December 1985 suddenly put an end to the rise of the Minutemen. The band broke up immediately.

The remaining members soon formed the formation fIREHOSE with Ed Crawford, a fanatical supporter of the Minutemen .

Today, Minutemen is best known for their song Corona , which served as the theme song for the MTV series Jackass .

Discography

(all publications on SST Records )

LPs

  • 1981: The Punch Line
  • 1982: What Makes a Man Start Fires?
  • 1984: The Politics of Time (New Alliance)
  • 1984: Double Nickels on the Dime
  • 1985: Three-Way Tie for Last
  • 1986: Ballot Result

EPs

  • 1980: Paranoid Time
  • 1981: Joy
  • 1982: Bean-Spill (Thermidor)
  • 1983: Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat
  • 1984: Tour game (Reflex)
  • 1985: Project: Mersh
  • 1985: Minuteflag (together with Black Flag )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ American Hardcore by Paul Rachman , 2008.
  2. ↑ Allmusic.com - Minutemen